II.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

“If a pupil fails to master basic reading skills at the outset, it will be a constant struggle for
them to get through other disciplines successfully, thus depriving them of the chance to become
literate and productive individuals,” (Br. Armin A. Luistro FSC)

Reading failure is a serious national problem and cannot simply be attributed to poverty,
immigration, or the learning of English as a second language (Strategic Marketing and Research
Inc.,). Reading as a field of teaching is considered one of the important areas of teaching if not
actually the most important ever. It is said to be one of the most necessary academic skills.
Besides, it is a major pillar upon which the teaching/learning process is built. The reading ability
plays a central role in the teaching/learning success at all educational stages. Having any difficulty
in this skill will result in variety of consequences on all subjects of study, since reading includes a
variety of sub-skills where reading comprehension skills is one of the many.

Comprehension is a part of the communication process of getting the thoughts that were
in the author’s mind into the readers mind. It is thought a difficult process because the
transmission of an idea through several imperfect media is involved. For example, the author must
have a clear idea in his mind, and then reduce this idea to written language; this will be printed;
and finally the reader looks at the printed word and forms an idea.
Reading comprehension enables the reader to interact with the text in a meaningful way.
For many, there are doors to lifetime of reading recreation and enjoyment. Moreover, the
experiential and cultural background of the ESL reader has a strong effect on reading
comprehension and ESL learners, early in their development of English, can write English and can
do so for various purposes ("Importance of Reading", 2009).

Reading comprehension is the ability to read text, process it, and understand its meaning.
Although this definition may seem simple, it is not necessarily simple to teach, learn or practice
(K12 Publishing, LLC, 2015.) An individual’s ability to comprehend text is inclined with his skills
and traits.

Reading comprehension is an essential skill for learners of English. For most of learners it
is the most important skill to master in order to ensure success in learning. With strengthened
reading skills, learners of English tend to make greater progress in other areas of language
learning. Reading should be an active, fluent process that involves the reader and the reading
material in building meaning.

Moreover, Reading Comprehension is defined as the level of understanding of a text or

message. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written and
how they trigger knowledge outside the text or message (Rayner, Foorman, Perfitti, Pesetsky &
Seidenberg, 2001).

Reading Comprehension according to Basaraba (2013) is a complex process that requires

different building-block skills. One model of reading comprehension proposes that understanding
what we read is really the result of three levels of skills: literal comprehension, inferential
comprehension and evaluative comprehension. Wherein, these levels could be useful in
identifying the level of communication skills of the students.

1
 In the literacy field, comprehension is primarily identified as the goal of reading (Duke &
Pearson, 2002; Duke, Pearson, Strachan, & Billman, 2011).

Moreover, the low level of reading comprehension among American students reveals
issues with underlying reading proficiency. A wide variety of studies suggest that as many as 85%
of students testing low in core reading skills also have weak underlying cognitive skills such as
auditory and visual processing. Thus, for many students, successful reading comprehension
means a return to the basic mental tools that create a firm cognitive foundation.
Pressley (2003), as cited by Pardo (2004), stated that increasing vocabulary, extensive
reading and critical reading are some of the practices that can be used to strengthen and refine
the person’s ability to comprehend any text. However, reading comprehension fails for a number
of reasons. One of the reasons is the lack of knowledge base. This deals on how much knowledge
a reader has about the subject he or she is reading. When the reader is more familiar with the
happenings in the text because they likely are similar in many ways to his or her own life
experiences then he or she can easily generate the necessary inferences from the text.

Snow, Burns. & Griffin (1998) suggested three initiatives to address the educational needs
of children beyond grade three. One is putting what we now know about improving reading
comprehension into practice. Next is building the knowledge base for improving reading
comprehension. Another is developing policies to support improvements in practice and in
research. According to the authors, initiatives to improve practice operate most effectively
through teacher education and professional development programs. With regard to improving
the knowledge base in reading comprehension, they believe that a child who builds up a strong
general knowledge base in many different subjects will have better reading ability than a child
who doesn’t. Indeed, students need to continue to read a lot, and to be guided to read books of
an appropriate level, so that they have opportunities to practice reading skills, to learn new
vocabulary items, and to be exposed to a variety of text.

The ultimate goal in teaching reading is to have students comprehend the ideas in a piece
of text as they read. Reading helps children expand their thinking skills, learn to concentrate, and
enlarge their vocabulary and effectively master their environment (Strategic Marketing and
Research Inc.,). Furthermore, The purpose of reading is comprehension — getting meaning from
written text. Find out what else research tells us about the active process of constructing meaning,
and how good readers consciously employing comprehension strategies. Without
comprehension, reading is a frustrating, pointless exercise in word calling. It is no exaggeration to
say that how well students develop the ability to comprehend what they read has a profound
effect on their entire lives. A major goal of reading comprehension instruction, therefore, is to
help students develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences they must have if they are to
become competent and enthusiastic readers (Texas Education Agency)

Indeed, reading comprehension is very vital for the learning process as it provides
students with the ability to understand, criticize and interact with the text; it expands students'
trends and experience ; it enhances their commonsense level; it deepens their thinking and assists
them to orientate and monitor themselves while reading; it helps students comprehend a text
self dependently and the teachers develop clear and successive instructional procedures and it
breaks the students' inaction by encouraging them to get involved in the educational process

2
more actively and effectively. Hence utilizing strategies that improve reading comprehension level
within the students is very necessary.

Without a doubt, the ability to comprehend written and spoken languages as well as to
communicate ideas and concepts are vital in one’s growth and progress. Access to knowledge in
the various disciplines is made possible through comprehension and communication and through
the mastery of the several study skills, habits and attitudes, one can develop the enthusiasm
necessary in the continual persistence of learning (Shippen, Houchins, Crites, Derzis & Patterson,
2010). Therefore, one that is unable to comprehend and communicate well in any forms is
deprived of a wonderful learning experience in the life as a person (Cimmiyotti, 2013; Shin,
Davison, Long, Chan, & Heistad, 2013; Quirk, & Beem, 2012).

Generally, the academic achievement of children in public schools is found to be weak to

withstand the challenges in the 21stcentury (NAEP, 1988 as cited by Cabardo, 2008). Secretary
Andrew Gonzales, the former Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary, admitted during the
Education Congress at Teacher’s Camp, Baguio City that poor academic achievement is clearly
shown in the low ratings they receive in the National Achievement Test (NAT) which were
administered by the National Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC). Moreover, the
results showed that most of the takers, both in and high school, were weak in the reading
comprehension part in English. This denotes that learners had low reading proficiency.

A widespread goal of education is reading comprehension for all students because reading
comprehension provides the basis for a substantial amount of learning in secondary school
(Alvermann & Earle, 2003; Kirsch et al., 2002). In the last 20 years, a major goal of reading
comprehension research has been to identify effective reading strategies That increase children’s
comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000). But as Guthrie, Wigfield, Barbosa, et al. (2004)
pointed out, the evidence rests primarily on instructional research in which single cognitive
strategies are taught in controlled experiments. Relatively little is known about the issue of how
multiple strategies can, and should, be combined in comprehension instruction. In multiple
strategies programs, strategy practice is often supported by peer-assisted learning arrangements
(Brown, Pressley, Van Meter, & Schuder, 1996; Klingner, Vaughn, & Schumm, 1998; Palincsar &
Brown, 1984). However, only a few investigations have addressed issues related to the
identification of the effective elements inherent in multiple strategies programs. Consequently,
the aim of this study was to examine the effect of strategies being taught on reading
comprehension and how these strategies are
practiced in relevant instruction.

A widespread goal of education in the school is reading comprehension for all students
because reading comprehension provides the basis for a substantial amount of learning in
secondary school (Alvermann & Earle, 2003; Kirsch
et al., 2002). In the last 20 years, a major goal of reading comprehension research has been to
identify effective reading strategies that increase children’s comprehension (National Reading
Panel, 2000). But as Guthrie, Wigfield, Barbosa, et al. (2004) pointed out, the evidence rests
primarily on instructional research in which single cognitive strategies are taught in controlled
experiments. Relatively little is known about the issue of how multiple strategies can, and should,
be combined in comprehension instruction. In multiple strategies programs, strategy practice is
often supported by peer-assisted learning arrangements (Brown, Pressley, VanMeter, & Schuder,
1996; Klingner, Vaughn, & Schumm, 1998; Palincsar & Brown, 1984). However, only a few

3
investigations have addressed issues related to the identification of the effective elements
inherent in multiple strategies programs. Consequently, the aim of this study was to examine the
effect of strategies being taught on reading comprehension and how these strategies are
practiced in relevant instructions.

For those who study English as a second language, ability in English reading
comprehension is a must. Learners need reading comprehension to be able to continually
increase their knowledge (M.Finnochiarro). Thus, in the Philippines, English is mostly a second
language learned at home and schools.

Reading Comprehension Sub-skills

With the research conducted by Donald Spearritt of Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New
Jercey, it revealed the nature of the mental skills involved in reading comprehension has been
investigated again by Davis (1968), in a comprehensive and well-designed study. Following a
review of earlier experimental studies of reading comprehension, he selected eight skills and
constructed items to measure each of these skills, each item being based on a different passage
for comprehension in order to avoid the problem of experimental dependence among responses
to items. After appropriate item analyses, two sets of twelve items were selected to represent
each of the following
skills:
"recalling word meanings,"
"drawing inferences about the meaning or a word from context,"
"finding answers to questions answered explicitly or in paraphrase,"
"weaving together ideas in the content,"
"drawing inferences from the content,"
"recognizing a writer's purpose, attitude, tone, and mood,
"identifying a writer's techniques,"
"following the structure of a passage."

Hence, in present context of NSW through the Department of Education and

Communities 2011 and the Department of Education New York City the sub-skills of reading
comprehension skills are:
Sequencing
Sequence is the order in which things happen. It also can tell the steps in doing something.
Think about some events that happened. Ask yourself, “Did this event happen before this event?”
“Did it happen after?” “Did it happen at the same time?” “Did this event happen first?” “Last?”
“Right before this event?” “Right after this event?”
Summarizing
A summary tells the most important details of the book or paragraph in your own words.
Steps to Summarize, After reading ask yourself, “What is the main idea of the chapter or book?”
or “What is the main idea of each paragraph?”Write down 2 to 5 main ideas in your own words.

Inferencing/ Making Inferences

An inference is an educated guess. There are steps to make an inference. First, you think
about the clues given in each sentence and second, think about your own experience or your prior
knowledge. Lastly, make an inference.

4
 Comparing and contrasting
When we compare things we tell how they are alike. When we contrast things we tell
Steps to compare and contrast: Ask yourself, “Are 2 things being compared or contrasted?”Are
clue words used to show how things are alike or different?

Drawing conclusions
A conclusion is an opinion or judgment. In drawing a conclusion: Think about what the
author wrote. Think about your own experience or your prior knowledge and make a conclusion
using what the author wrote, your own experience, and your prior knowledge.

Distinguishing between fact and opinion

A fact is something you can check to find out if it is true. An opinion tells what a person
thinks or feels about something and it cannot be proven. Think about if the statement is true for
everyone and it can be proven. If it is, then it is a fact. Think about if the statement is not true for
everyone. If it is, then it is an opinion because not everyone agrees.

Finding the main idea, and supporting details

Main idea is what the passage is about. In paragraphs, it is often contained in the first
sentence. In longer passages, the main idea may be in the title, chapter headings.

Finally, we suggest some recommendations of the finding of this study for professionals and
authorities who work with children in school. It is highly recommended that:
Teachers and authorities: Reading coordinator, Teacher Reading Coordinator should have
let pupils read aloud. This forces him to go slower, which gives him more time to process what he
reads, which improves reading comprehension. Plus, he's not only seeing the words, he's hearing
them, too. You can also take turns reading aloud. Provide the right kinds of books. Make sure your
student gets lots of practice reading books that aren't too hard. She should recognize at least 90
percent of the words without any help. Stopping any more often than that to figure out a word
makes it tough for her to focus on the overall meaning of the story. Let pupils reread to build
fluency. To gain meaning from text and encourage reading comprehension, your child needs to
read quickly and smoothly - a skill known as fluency. By the beginning of 3rd grade, for example,
your child should be able to read 90 words a minute. Rereading familiar, simple books gives your
child practice at decoding words quickly, so she'll become more fluent in her reading
comprehension.
Encourage pupils to talk to the teacher. If your child is struggling mightily with reading
comprehension, he may need more help with his reading — for example, building his vocabulary
or practicing phonics skills.
Teachers must conduct supplement class reading. If your child's class is studying a particular
theme, look for easy-to-read books or magazines on the topic. Some prior knowledge will help
her make her way through tougher classroom texts and promote reading comprehension.
Teachers should talk about what he's reading. This "verbal processing" helps him remember and
think through the themes of the book. Ask questions before, during, and after a session to
encourage reading comprehension (Parent and Child Magazine).

5
 Research Questions

This study aims to determine the effect of homogenizing the group of students in the reading
comprehension skills and answer the following question

1. How may the homogenous groups of the students be describe in terms of

a. Section
b. Gender
2. How may the reading comprehension skills of the homogenize group of student be
describe in terms
a. Summarizing
b. Sequencing
c. Comparing and contrasting
d. Drawing conclusions
e. Finding the main idea
3. Is there any significant difference between the reading comprehension skills of the
homogenize groups in terms of
a. Summarizing
b. Sequencing
c. Comparing and contrasting
d. Drawing conclusions
e. Finding the main idea

Research Hypotheses

1. There no significant difference between the reading comprehension skills of the

homogenize groups in terms of
a. Summarizing
b. Sequencing
c. Comparing and contrasting
d. Drawing conclusions
e. Finding the main idea

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

This study focuses on determining the comprehension skills of the Grade ___
_______________ in English Context as basis for development of enhanced school reading
intervention program.

The result of the study will be limited by the scope of the prepared and validated
instrument that focuses on testing the pupils’ ability on summarizing, sequencing, comparing and
contrasting, drawing conclusions, and finding the main idea and supporting details as major sub-
skills of comprehension skills.

6
 METHOD
Research Design
A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group design will be utilized. The design
included both pre-test and post-test data gathering on two groups to making it an independent
sample design. The students will be separated in to 2 groups, the __________ and the
_______________. Pre-test will be conducted for both groups with the same test. The pre-test
served as a base line data. The post-test was conducted to both groups with the same instrument
used during the pre-test. The results of the post-test served as the end line of the data.
The ____________________ into content instruction stood in sharp contrast to the use
of stand-alone courses as the primary vehicle for introducing students to reading comprehension
skills. It is typically, the approach adopted when wide ranging thinking objectives were set across-
the-curriculum.

The approach called ___________________________ involved teachers designing

lessons where the thinking skills and the curriculum content were taught simultaneously. The
students were introduced explicitly to strategies for more skilful thinking, and then prompted to
use these strategies to think about the content they are learning. By putting an emphasis on
higher-order thinking into content instruction, deeper understanding is reported, and more
students engaged interest in what they are learning. When infusion was accompanied with the
introduction of explicit ______________, together with highly scaffold guidance by the teacher,
and prompted reflective metacognition and strategic planning by the students about how they
will engage in the same sort of reading skill (preparation for transfer), a very powerful learning
environment for teaching thinking was created.

Table 1
Calendar of activities for the _____________________ skills
WORK PLAN

Below is the matrix showing the plan of activity to be conducted, persons involved in the
completion of the activity and the target date of completion.

ACTIVITIES PERSONS INVOLVE TARGET DATE STATUS

Reproduction of the Reading
Comprehension Skills Test
Administering the Test
Analysis of data gathered,
documentation, encoding
and inputting data
Completion, printing, and
evaluation of research paper
Submission of result and
Consultation

Participants

7
 Purposive sampling will be used in the study, the target populations were the Grade
____________ students enrolled in two separate sections taught by the same teacher during the
same semester. The two groups in the study were the ________________ group with ______
students consisting of _____ females and ________ males and the _____________ group with
__________ students composed of ____________ females and __________ males with the total
of _____________ respondents. The following criteria were set in the selection of the participants
nevertheless turned out to be quite similar in a number of respects (traits commonly held to be
relevant for eventual study validity considerations). First, they are all __________________ grade
______students; second, both groups are under __________________ of K-12 curriculum; third,
there were no quantitatively notable group differences in terms of group gender composition.

Materials and instruments

Administration of Instrument
The researcher informed the participants with the purpose of the study and administered
________________________ and pre and post-assessment to the topic covers by the study for
both _____________ and __________ groups.
Reading comprehension Skills
The two groups of the study were the _______________ group and the _________ group.
The researcher prepared lesson plans for both groups. The participants were taught the same
topics for the same duration as the _______________ group --- weeks for ---- days one hour every
session. In addition, regular weekly class tests were conducted and in the ----- week, post-tests
were administered.
The teacher will prepare lesson plans with instructional materials to teach the topics.
These skills were summarizing, sequencing, comparing and contrasting, drawing conclusions, and
finding the main idea and supporting details.
Data Collection
The data collection instruments and the process of data collection were evaluated. The
data was collected during the third ______________ of the school year ____________.
The Pre-assessment was given to both groups before the

The data collected from the results of pre-assessment served as a baseline of study. And
the results of post-test from the two groups were compared to the results of pre-assessment to
determine if there was an effect in the experimental group.

Data Analysis
The data gathered will be tabulated and the mean value will be compared to the analysis
of treating the students’ performance in ______________ using t-test- the testing tool that
compute the significant differences of the sample and population mean with unknown population
variance. The received wisdom has been the parametric statistical procedures, such as the t test,
were robust with regard to violations of the normality of distribution and homogeneity of variance
assumptions.

Ethical Issues

For the protection of human respondents specifically ______________ pupils who will
participate in the study informed consent, the students who participated in the study was given
clear and sufficient information on the aspects of study at hand. Students who will voluntarily

8
participate in the study will be asked to sign the informed consent form attached herein. (Please
see the appended inform consent form). The researchers administered and collected the
instrument from the respondents during regular class session with consent from their subject
teachers and of the Indigenous People Chairman.

a. Data Analysis

The collected data from the subject completed Reading Comprehension Skills Test will be
entered and encoded by the _________________ and will be checked by the teacher –
researcher. Final validation of the encoded data will be done by the Principal Researcher for
quality assurance. The data collected will be analyzed through Descriptive Statistics involving
Mean Percentage Score (MPS) to answer the first and second research questions respectively
while the t-test will be used to answer the fourth research questions and will test the
formulated null hypotheses and analyze the variance.

VII. COST ESTIMATES

UNIT
ACTIVITIES PARTICULARS QUANTITY UNIT ESTIMATE COST
COST
Reproduction of
the Reading
Comprehension
Skills Test
Administering the
Test
Analysis of data
gathered,
documentation,
encoding and
inputting data
Completion,
printing, and
evaluation of
research paper
Submission of
Result and
Consultation

GRAND TOTAL COST

ACTION PLAN

Republic of the Philippines

9
 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Phases of GOALS/ ACTIVITIES/ PERSONS RESOUR Time SUCCESS

Institutionali OBJECTIV STRATEGIES INVOLVE CES Fra INDICATOR
zation ES D NEEDED me
PHASE 1:
Pre –
Implementat
ion To select Classification and Reading _______ Level of
and selection of Coordinat _ Results Support to
SELECTION identify students to or, the Program
( Selection of pupils to undergo reading Reading Formulat
pupils to be be interventions teachers, ion Handed list
remediated) undergon Principal, Procedur of pupils to
e Utilizing the selected es undergo
enhanced result of the pupils intervention
Reading conducted
Interventi _______
on
ORIENTATIO Program
N
( Orientation Reading Letter to Level of
and Coordinat parents Acceptability
Introduction To give Information or
of the one – orientatio dissemination via Contact
week n on the letter of Selected numbers Signed
remedial nature, permission and pupils consent
reading scope, personal Parents Handout (agreeing)
program) and conversation to s
rationale parents whose Reading
of the child is involved program
enhanced in the program teachers
reading
interventi Principal
on
program
to pupils
and
parents
for
acquainta
nce and
to arouse
students
love for
reading

10
 PHASE 11: To Giving pre-tests Reading Reading
Implementat diagnose involving sub- Coordinat Compreh Reports on
ion Proper and skills of reading or, ension Reading
assess the comprehension Reading Skills Diagnosis
CONDUCT reading (varied tests each Teachers Diagnosti
( Actual and grade level) and c Test
Implementat comprehe pupils involving Maximum
ion of the nsion involved its sub- participation
Remedial levels of Adoption of the skills of pupils
Reading the Reading
Program) pupils. Intervention such -Dolch’s
as: Reading Basic
􀀹 Word Wall Coordinat sight
􀀹 A Page A day or words
To -Word
increase 􀀹 SRA games
the Reading (word
reading Teachers domino
speed of - pupils etc.)
the pupils -Reading Level of
exercises participation
-Others
Stories,
Letting pupils fables,
read the list of
prepared texts words Maximum
aloud where and etc. participation
teacher also Principal,
given by of pupils
takes turn to reading
the involved
read teachers,
To Reading
adviser,
enhance Coordina
parents
and tor and
Providing the (at home)
increases Reading
right kinds of - pupils
reading Teachers Monitorial
comprehe books and report of
nsion reading practice reading
books Reading
skills Variety teachers and
teachers-
of pupils of reading
pupils
by interesti coordinstor
engaging Stopping and ng
rereading Reading
them to a stories
teachers,
cautiously
coordinat
–
Encouraging or,
prepared
pupils to talk to principal-
and
the reading pupils
varied Books
reading teachers suitable

11
activities Reading for each
and teachers, grade
strategies Vocabulary advisers, level (no.
. building and coordinat of words)
phonics practice or –
pupils

Reading
coordinat
or,
Discussion on reading
what has read by teachers,
the pupils advisers,
(basketball parents- Compute
questioning) pupils r games:
Questioning hangman
approaches , picture
- Thinking word,
time secret
- Time-out word…
- Conscript
s and
voluntee
rs
- Phone a
friend Reading
- Hot- kits
seating
- Mantle Reading Fish bowl
of the coordinat with
expert ors, follow –
- Others teacher/a up
dviser - question
pupils s
Activities on the
different sub-
skills of reading Reading
comprehension coordinat
(summarizing, ors,
sequencing, teacher/a Report of
comparing and dviser - the fast
contrasting and pupils learner
etc…through pupils
Graphic
organizers and Graphic
modules organizer
s

12
 Computer Story
assisted maps Checked
Instructions and Activity
activities for Modules outputs/
Reading sheets
Comprehension
Skills Software Parent’s or
on Family
To Pupils Reading member
encourag undergoi Compreh positive
e a sense ADDITIONAL ng ension feedback
of STRATEGIES------- Interventi (downloa and report
responsib on, ded and on home-
ility for SQ3R - Survey, Reading well- based
one’s Question, Read, Coordinat verified reading
own Recite, Review or – by by
progress grade experts) Checking of
Reading Contest level stories read
with at home
comprehension
Satisfactory
Identified in Analytic
fast Scoring
Pairing of slow readers Rubric
learners to fast pupils Activity
learners (Pair with sheets
Reading) enough
comprehe
nsion Reading
skills – piece
struggling (draw
readers lots)

Audio assisted
reading
e- Prepared
classroom reading
Teacher / materials
 Guided teaching
reading aid and
 Embracin pupils
g reading
even parents,
when at brother,
home sister or
with the any Audios
guidance family

13
 of members
parents, at home
sisters or Compiled
brothers stories
and etc. with
using a question
right kind s suitable
of for the
selection pupils
– and
interestin relatable
g and to pupils
relatable real life
to real – experien
life ces
experien
ces. Sheets
where
the
parents
will affix
their
signature
s as
proof
that their
child
read the
stories at
home
and
answere
d the
question
s.
PHASE 111: CULMINATING
Post – ACTIVITIES
Implementat (Reading Report on
ion Festival) Selected Mean
To assess  Reading pupils Reading
FINAL the Contest Furni speed level
ASSESSMENT improve by Grade English sh and
ment of Level Coordinat post comprehensi
the with or readi on level
pupils’ compreh ng
reading ension Principal test:
speed oral
and

14
 reading  One – Reading readi Documentati
comprehe one teachers ng ons and
nsion reading pictorials
skills assessme Read
nt with ing Results on
compreh piece the different
ension comprehensi
(draw by on sub-skills
luck) contests

-Summarizing
contest
-Sequencing
contest
-Finding main
idea cont.
-Etc.

Research Instrument

Reading Comprehension Skills Test (RCST)

Directions: This is a Reading Comprehension Skills Test (RCST) designed to test your reading
comprehension skills. Kindly read and understand the questions below then write your answer in
the answer sheet provided. You have 20 minutes to finish the examination.

NAME: __________________________________ GRADE: _________

Section: ________________________________ GENDER: ________

Hey! This test is to examine your comprehension skills specifically Summarizing, Sequencing,
Comparing and Contrasting, Drawing Conclusions and Finding the Main Idea. 20 MINUTES will be
allotted.

Please read the selections and passages carefully and answer each item honestly and
correctly.

Antonio was called by his mother to the yard. His mother showed him plants that had dried. His
mother had told him to take care of the plants. But Antonio did not obey her. He had not watered
the plants Antonio felt bad about it because he know he was at fault.

1. Why did Antonio feel bad when his mother showed him the dried plants?
a. Antonio took care of the plants but they died.
b. Antonio did not clean the yard very well.
c. Antonio did not obey his mother.
d. Antonio did not go home on time.

15
One day Ruben got sick. He stayed in bed and rested. He did not go to school. How did not go to
school. How he wished he could go to school and study with his classmates.

2. Why did Ruben stay home?

a. He was not feeling well.
b. He didn’t do his homework.
c. He didn’t want to go to school.
d. He wanted to play with his classmates.

3. Read the sentences below and decide what is the correct order of the events. Choose
the letter that shows the correct order of events.

1. I don't want to eat pizza again for a long time.

2. I ate ten pieces of pizza.
3. Later that night, I got sick.
4. I felt very full.

a. 4, 2, 3, 1
b. 1, 2, 3, 4
c. 2, 4, 3, 1
d. 4, 1, 3, 2

4. Read the statements below and arrange the order of events.

Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. Nilo was playing with his brother at the park.

2. It was a cloudy day.
3. Suddenly, a heavy rain fell.
4. Nilo and his brother got wet.

a. 1,2,3,4
b. 4,3,2,1
c. 2,1,3,4
d. 3,2,1,4

Read the following selection and answer the question that follows.

Mary and Tracey are twin sisters. They are fourteen years of age. There are many things that they
have in common. Mary loves to listen to music, and Tracy likes music also. Mary likes inspirational
music, and Tracey hip hop. Both girls attend Mount Washington Lake Middle School. They get
good grades and work hard to learn. Mary has a temper, and very often fights with her peers, but
Tracey is very quiet and passive. Tracey never fights with anyone. Mary scores really well on tests,
but Tracey gets very nervous during tests and sometimes doesn't score very well. Tracey can read
and write fluently, but just struggles with taking test. Mary wants to be an astronaut when she is
older, so she studies a lot of math and science. Tracey wants to become a biologist, so she studies
math and science also. Both girls live with their mother and father in a small family home.

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5. Based on the selection, how do Mary and Tracey differ from each other?

a. Mary performs well in class while Tracey is not.

b. Mary studies math and science while Tracey studies English
c. Mary wants to be an astronaut while Tracey wants to become a biologist.
d. Mary loves to listen to music, while Tracey does not.

6. What characteristics do they have in common?

a. Being quiet
b. Being passive
c. Being quarrelsome
d. Being music lover

One evening, Isabel saw a beautiful insect fly around and around a lamp. “Is that a
butterfly, Mother? ‘ Isabel asked.
“No, it is not a butterfly. It is a moth,” Mother answered. Look at its body. It is small and
its wings are open even when it is at rest. A butterfly’s body is long and thin. Its wings are folded
when it is at rest. The month flies to the light at night.”

7. What conclusion can be drawn from the selection?

a. A butterfly is more beautiful than a moth.
b. The moth and the butterfly differ from each other.
c. The moth and the butterfly have the same characteristics.
d. Mother and daughter do not know what moths and butterflies are.

It was news story time. The third grade class was sharing important news of the day. Linda stood
up and said, “Look at the newspapers today. Our Filipino dancers are in the papers. They were
well-liked by the audience. The most beautiful Filipino dances were presented.

8. What conclusion can be drawn from the paragraph?

a. Filipinos are good story tellers.
b. Filipinos are talented in dancing.
c. Filipinos love to read newspapers.
d. Filipinos are well-loved by other people.

Do you enjoy ice cream? Many people over the ages have enjoyed ice cream. The ancient Greeks
ate snow mixed with honey and fruit. It really took off as a dessert in the 18th century. Today,
people all over the world enjoy the wonderful taste of ice cream.

9. What is the main idea of this passage?

a. The Ancient Greeks ate a version of ice cream.

b. Ice cream has been around a long time.
c. Ice cream was popular in the 18th century.
d. Many people eat ice cream.

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The sun is some ways away from Earth. It may not seem that far when you look at it in the sky.
However, it is so far away that it takes eight whole minutes for the light from the sun to reach us
on Earth. And yet, it is still far closer than any other star in the universe.

10. What is the main idea of the passage?

a. The sun is far away from Earth.

b. The sun’s light takes eight minutes to reach Earth.
c. The sun appears closer than it is.
d. There are suns across the universe.

_________________________________
Signature of Taker over Printed Name

Appendix B

Table of Specification of the Research Instrument

COMPREHENSION SKILLS
Finding
Items Comparing and Drawing
Summarizing Sequencing the Main
Contrasting Conclusions
Idea

1
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2


3 

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 4 

5


6


7


8


9


10


Approved by:

Informed Consent Form

INTRODUCTION
_______________, teacher-researcher of this institution. I would like to request your
voluntary participation in a research study. Please take time to read the information below before
signing this consent form.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

We are inviting you to participate in the study because we would like to know the The
reading comprehension skills among grade _____ ______________________ School. As Grade
______ pupils, you are perfectly fit to be the subject of the study.

PROCEDURE
You will be asked to answer 14 - items Reading Comprehension Skills test. The result of
the test will be used as primary data needed to answer the questions of the study at hand.
POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS
There are no identified risks in participating in the study. However, if you feel some
discomforts in participating the study please notify the teacher-researcher.
POTENTIAL BENEFITS
This research will help to increase your level of comprehension skills on English Language
Context. Thus, your participation will help increase your level of understanding regarding the
conduct of basic research.

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CONFIDENTIALITY
Any information obtained in connection with the study and that can be identified with
you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission. The data gathered
from the test will remain anonymous and will be coded using letters.
The data obtained from the study will be stored in researcher’s office in a locked cabinet.
The data will be kept there for approximately six years after the study has completed and then
these will be destroyed.
No information will be released that will determine your identity when the result of the
study is published or presented in conferences.
RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS
Your participation in this study is voluntary; you may withdraw your consent anytime and
discontinue your participation without penalty. If you have any questions about the result of the
study and your rights as study subject please see or contact the teacher-researcher.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE RESEARCHERS

If you have any questions about the research, please feel free to contact the
researcher/Principal Investigator at the following mobile digits: +639___________ or reach us
through the following information:

INFO

CONSENT
Your signature below confirms that you have decided to volunteer as a research subject
for this study, and that you have read and understood the information provided above.

Name:_____________________________
Signature:__________________________
Date Signed: ___________________

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